3 Ways Employers Can Make the Interviewing Process Less Stressful

We all know that job hunting is one of the most painful processes that an adult can endure during their career. Sometimes we are job hunting because we are looking to grow and expand our career opportunities, other times we are looking because our previous job just didn’t work out the way we had envisioned.

While the process of creating our resumes and crafting cover letters is a daunting one, one of the most painful parts of the process is the waiting. Waiting to see if they want to interview you after submitting a resume. Waiting to see if they want to go further with you in the interview process after your initial conversation and interview. Waiting to see if they actually want to hire you. Waiting is the name of the game, but what is really painful is the uncertainty of what is happening on the potential employer’s end.

I have been going through the job hunting process for almost a year now and I can say without hesitation it can be stressful and self-esteem crushing all at the same time. I am learning a lot about the hiring process from the candidate’s end and have come up with three ways companies can potentially make this a little less stressful.

1. Don’t be silent. One of the worst parts of the process is not knowing if a potential employer is even interested. You submit your resume and cover letter and never hear anything. It is the working world’s way of ghosting. A great way to help out people applying to work for your company is to at least send an acknowledgment or rejection letter. It not only helps cut down on anxiety for the people applying but will also cut down on people trying to follow up to find out if there is any information at all.
2. Keep candidates informed during the process. Expectations being set for when a candidate will hear back is really helpful, especially if said person is interviewing for multiple jobs. Understandably sometimes getting back to a candidate gets delayed, but it is helpful to know if that is the case. A quick standardized email or a brief phone call is super helpful, especially if the person is trying to make a decision on which job offer to accept.
3. Be prepared with more than just a generic reason why they are not being offered the job. I have had experience with companies where I have been through several rounds of interviews and received the dreaded call of being told that I didn’t get the job. As disheartening as this is, especially if the candidate is really excited about potentially working for your company, the most confusing part is not knowing why. Generally, if a candidate is asking for specifics as to why they did not receive an offer, it is because they want to learn from that interview process so they can become a better candidate in the future.

I know for me personally if a potential employer followed these three steps, it would definitely make job hunting a lot less stressful, and maybe even a great learning experience.

Photo by Nastuh Abootale with Unsplash